A good dinner to start the weekend @ Gonpachi

The must orders –

A5 beef skewers

Bagna Cauda – Japanese vegetables served with shanghai hairy crab dipping sauce

Uni tempura

Handmade soba served chilled with yam purée

Crab croquette

The rest of the dinner –

Japanese omelette served with radish. Texture was great, egg was spongy and very moist. Pretty good if you love your eggs. I’m an egg lover.

Ox tongue skewers – nice chew and great flavors. I could do with an extra stick.

Toro skewers – a little overcooked because most part of it except the centre was tough. The flavors was still good but I’d would much rather have my toro sashimi style.

The tsukune was served with onsen egg but it cost extra to request for that.. STRANGE. This dish was average.

Not the best steamed egg custard I have had but still it was pretty yummy! The egg custard was nice and moist, had the right texture and just enough wobble to it. The flavors were slightly on the subtle side but otherwise, still a satisfying dish.

This was the least memorable dish for me.. Vegetable tempura with little shrimps. Aesthetically it looked amazing and it smelled so good too but the texture didn’t really do it for me. I like my tempura to have a light and crispy batter with a contrasting texture from the actual food that’s beneath the batter whether its crunchy fresh prawns, perfectly cooked fish or sweet juicy vegetables. This dish however just felt heavy.

Pleasantly surprised @ The Bellbrook Bistro Oz by Laris

My favorite dishes of the night! May I present to you –

Steak tartar – possibly one of the most innovative steak tartar I have tried and its GOOD! It’s mixed with bone marrow, sinfully decadent and packed with flavors.

Next favorite – steak flank. The steak was cooked perfectly, slightly charred on the outside and a wonderful pink on the inside. Eaten with the smoky eggplant purée, the combination of flavors mutually enhanced each other. Every bite left me nodding my head with approval and wanting more.

Now for the rest of the dinner –

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Time for tapas @ Catalunya HK

Date: 21 May 2013

Weather: Dark, stormy and feels eerie like Armageddon

Address: G/F Guardian House Morrison Hill, 32 Oi Kwan Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Cuisine: modern Spanish
Recommendation: Bombas Iberico croquette Lamb shoulder Lobster rice Spherical olives Avocado and lobster roll Ham, Cheese and Truffle “Bikini”	Average price range: starter – HKD 100-160 main – HKD 300-995 dessert HKD 70-95 sides HKD 60-95 cocktail HKD 150

Thanks to my awesome friend, we managed to secure a table for 2 on a Saturday night at an extremely short notice. I was definitely excited to try this place, I mean it’s kind of hard not to be since there is a star studded panel of culinary experts behind Catalunya HK. AND of course, I am a big fan of Catalunya Singapore, the sister restaurant.

0.5 Contemporary Japanese Cuisine & Bar

Date: 23 April 2013
Weather: Cloudy and cool with moments of glorious sunshine

• Address: Shop B, G/F, 12-13 Shepherd Street, Tai Hang, 大坑施弼街12-13號地下B號舖

• Cuisine: Japanese

• Recommendation: Plum cod, cold udon with sea urchin

• Average price range: HKD 400-500 per person w/o alcohol

A fairly new establishment in my favorite neighborhood – Tai Hang, a foodie’s haven. It’s definitely not a fine dining oasis, think more hearty, non-pretentious comfort food that won’t break the bank (well, at least not for most restaurants here).

Not many reviews on 0.5 but I decided to give it a shot anyway since a friend did say pretty good things about it. Besides, I heard that it’s by the same folks as No. 5 Italian and Go Ya Yakitori (both of which are located in Tai Hang and serve some pretty amazing food but those are stories for another time).

The ambience was charming and inviting, which got me quite hopeful about the impending feast.

Custard Puffs – an obsession?

Date: 23 April 2013
Weather: Blue skies and a generally sunny day

Custard Puffs – an obsession?

I have been a huge fan of puffs with creamy decadent custard filling since I was tiny. I especially loved the ones at Katong Bakery & Confectionery in Singapore, an iconic two-storey shophouse in a magnificent red facade that stood its place along East Coast Road once upon a time. To be exact, it occupied that spot for a good 78 years since 1925 – that’s way before my mom and dad were born, amazing stuff. I remember making very frequent trips to that bakery just for their custard puffs. They were traditional, fuss-free puffs loaded with sweet, eggy custard which had the perfect consistency. Sadly, I will never be able to taste these lovely puffs again as the bakery closed down in 2003.

Strawberry shortcake for you?

Date: 22 April 2013
Weather: Cloudy and grey

Strawberry shortcake
The original plan was to make a strawberry shortcake for a friend’s belated birthday but plans changed at the last minute so I ended up having the strawberry shortcake all to myself, not that I’m complaining. I must admit that there was a huge sense of satisfaction once I assembled the various components into the final product – after an hour of busyness, there it was, a very pretty looking (if I may say so) strawberry shortcake sitting in my bowl =)

Hello world!

Date: 22 April 2013
Weather: Cloudy and grey (but it’s ok because my heart is overflowing with excitement!)

My Very First Entry *drumrolls*

Yes I know, it’s yet another food blogger (*yawns*) coming on board. Worse still, I’m not even an awesome writer so technically speaking, I’m no more than a wannabe food blogger BUT I do have an insane love for food that I wish to share with the world..  ok fine, someone… anyone…?